It's girls' night out in the crop of new sitcoms premiering this week. And one of the best of them premieres tonight on CBS - "2 Broke Girls," a tightly scripted, appealingly cast show about two young opposites who have one thing in common: poverty.

Created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings, "Girls" is about an outwardly cynical young waitress named Max (Kat Dennings) and a newly broke Park Avenue heiress named Caroline (Beth Behrs) whose father is in jail for bilking his clients out of millions of dollars.

Latest entertainment videos

You Need To See The Romantic Place Where Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Fell In LoveTownAndCountry

A Countdown to the 13 Most Expensive Celebrity Dresses of All TimeELLEDecor

In Honor of Taylor Swift’s Birthday We’re Showcasing Her Best Moments of 2017!MarieClaire

Selena Gomez And Justin Bieber Won’t Be Spending Christmas Together And More NewsMarieClaire

Hair Diary with Celebrity Stylist Kristen EssHarpersBazaar

Meghan Markle Has Always Used Her Voice For Advocacy And CharityMarieClaire

The 7 Most Romantic Celebrity ProposalsMarieClaire

A Reporter Asked Justin Bieber If He Plans To Propose To Selena Gomez Soon And The Singer Broke Into The Biggest Grin And More NewsMarieClaire

Nicki Minaj Can Literally Drop Jaws In Any OutfitMarieClaire

Caroline's previously pampered lifestyle may make her seem naive, but she quickly exhibits strong survival skills when she shows up looking for work at the Brooklyn greasy spoon where Max works - it's the one place she's certain no one from her former life would ever visit. She may not know what it means to "marry the ketchup," but she knows when a sleazy guy is coming on to her and how to keep him at arm's length.

For her part, Max may seem tough as nails, but she's more or less the 21st century version of a classic Joan Blondell character: Not only a heart of gold, but probably too trusting for her own good.

Because the two young women seem to have nothing in common, they become good friends and roommates. A third occupant is added to the household at the end of tonight's episode, but I won't reveal the details.

The supporting cast includes "SNL" veteran Garrett Morris as the diner's cashier and Matthew Moy as the diner's new owner, Han Lee, who decides to change his first name to Bryce to become more American. The one flaw in this show is Lee's character: It skates far too close to the edge of offensive ethnic stereotyping.

Otherwise, "Broke" is rich with laughs, warmth and credibility. The performances by the two lead actresses are instantly winning, both individually and as they play off each other. The show's got a bit of "The Odd Couple" going for it, and, as I've written previously, a bit of the old sitcom "Alice" as well, in which a similar dynamic was established between the title character, played by Linda Lavin, and Polly Holliday's seen-it-all Flo.

Yes, the show is co-created by Cummings, the comedian who, among other things, used to appear on "Chelsea Lately" and who has her own eponymous sitcom premiering Thursday on NBC. That show has some merit and potential, but it doesn't match the kind of perfect comic storm that swirls through "2 Broke Girls."

'New Girl' falls short

On the surface, the heavily hyped "New Girl," premiering Tuesday on Fox, would seem to have the same ingredients: workable situation, decent casting in secondary roles and a very appealing young actress in the title role. But where everything comes together beautifully in "Broke," "New Girl" tries too hard and falls short for doing so.

The show is about a kooky young woman whom Fox has been calling "adorkable." Jess (Zooey Deschanel) discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her and turns to Craigslist to find a new place to live. She ends up sharing a place with three single guys, spending much of her day watching "Dirty Dancing" on DVD and crying about her bum of an ex- boyfriend. The three guys include Nick (Jake M. Johnson), not so recently dumped himself but unable to move on; Schmidt, a seemingly shallow, womanizing hunk a la Barney Stinson, but without the sassy dialogue; and Winston, a.k.a. Coach (Lamorne Morris), a personal trainer with anger-management issues.

At the center of this testosterone whirlwind is goofy, lovable, please-make-her-shut-up Jess. Awkward is one thing, but Deschanel ramps up the weird habits (making up bits of songs about herself at any given moment), squawking animalistic vocal interjections, spastic dance moves and rubbery facial expressions to the point of overkill within the first 10 minutes of the show.

Overplayed

Deschanel is an appealing young woman who's shown herself to be a competent actress in films such as "(500) Days of Summer." She doesn't need to be directed to overplay Jess to this extent. Her three male roommates may not be the brightest bulbs in the pack, even someone without anger-management issues would want to kick her out of the apartment after a day.

Make that a half hour.

Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, the show's fundamental setup isn't all that inspired, but it could work with smarter writing and better direction, especially with regard to Deschanel. In the name of all that is holy, tone it down, gang.

To phrase it in a way that "adorkable" Jess might understand, take a chill pill, girl.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.